1/ Special counsel Jack Smith urged the Supreme Court to immediately step in and decide whether Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for charges related to his efforts to subvert the 2020 election. In order to keep Trump’s trial on track, scheduled to begin March 4, Smith asked the Supreme Court take up the matter directly and skip over the appeals court process that could take months to resolve. “The United States recognizes that this is an extraordinary request,” Smith wrote. “This is an extraordinary case.” Smith added: “This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy: whether a former president is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office or is constitutionally protected from federal prosecution when he has been impeached but not convicted before the criminal proceedings begin.” Trump has argued that he is “absolutely immune” from the criminal charges and that his actions were “official acts” as president. Earlier this month, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan denied Trump’s motion to dismiss his indictment on presidential immunity and constitutional grounds, prompting Trump to appeal and ask for the case to be put on hold. The Supreme Court is not required to take up the case. If it does, any decision would be the first time in American history that the Supreme Court will have ruled on whether a former president can be prosecuted for actions taken while in office. (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / NBC News / CNN / Politico / Axios / CNBC / ABC News)

Jack Smith reveals sweeping scope of bid to debunk Trump election machine claims. “In a 45-page filing, Smith’s team describes interviewing more than a dozen of the top intelligence officials in Trump’s administration — from his director of national intelligence to the administrator of the NSA to Trump’s personal intelligence briefer — about any evidence that foreign governments had penetrated systems that counted votes in 2020.” (Politico)

Trump won’t testify as planned in the civil trial over allegations that he lied about his wealth. In a statement, New York Attorney General Letitia James said that regardless of whether Trump testifies again, “we have already proven that he committed years of financial fraud and unjustly enriched himself.” The $250 million case — which is in its final stages — is putting his net worth on trial and threatening to block him from doing business in his native state. (Axios /